Take The Car, Take Life Easy

November 3, 1985|By Maura Garrabrant, Special to the News/Sun-Sentinel

BOARD THE AUTO TRAIN — The mood is merry in the dome car as the train rolls north through Florida into Georgia. Newfound friends swap stories over drinks, play mean games of gin rummy and test their skills at Trivial Pursuit. Raucous laughter drowns out the train`s clatter as it rides the rails at 70 mph.

You quickly scan the dome car, half expecting to see the smiling face of cruise director Julie McCoy or hear purser Gopher Smith`s corny jokes. But this isn`t television`s Love Boat. It`s Amtrak`s Auto Train, and in terms of fun and friendliness, it`s the next best thing.

Passenger Bess Norton plunks down her rum and Coke and takes her eyes off new friend Al (``Just call me Al, we`re on a first-name basis here,`` he says) for a few seconds. But only for a few seconds.

``I walked into this car about an hour ago not knowing a soul, and I`ll tell you, I`m really having a good time,`` Norton says. Her buddy grins and pokes her in the arm.

``I have my parents with me, but they`re in their own room. I`m helping with the driving to New York,`` she says. Glancing out the glass-topped car at the endless fields, she pauses, then smiles. ``You know, this beats a cruise any day. No one has to see me in my bathing suit.``

The 857-mile trip from South to North begins in Sanford, about 20 miles north of Orlando, and ends 16 hours later in Lorton, Va., 20 miles southwest of Washington, D.C. At the Auto Train entrance in Sanford, an Amtrak employee checks your tickets (one for each passenger, one for the automobile), and waves you on to a group of energetic workers who stick a number on the side of your car, and before you can count to 10, whisk it off to one of the three- tiered automobile-carrying train cars.

As the cars vanish, some of the owners break into a panic. The apprehensive owner of a yellow Cadillac bearing license plates that say ``Luckie`` starts to question her luck. ``Oh my God, I just know my car is going to fall off the train!``

A white-haired man standing next to her shakes his finger, rolls his eyes and retorts: ``You just better hope it doesn`t fall on top of my Toyota!`` They both laugh. The group around them chimes in.

Jimmy Gaines, 9, traveling to northern New Jersey, has more serious matters on his mind. Furtively looking from the train cars on the left to the train cars on the right, he tugs at his mother. ``I thought it got to go with us.``

A friendly Amtrak crew member jumps to the rescue, saving mom from having to deal with such technical questions. He explains that train cars carrying automobiles link up with passenger cars, and the automobiles remain behind the passenger cars throughout the trip to Virginia.

One joker in the group, headed for Atlantic City, just can`t wait for the gambling to begin. ``Let`s make a pool,`` he says. ``Let`s take bets on how many cars this train loses or how many get creamed.``

The Amtrak employee smiles indulgently. No doubt he has heard these lines before.

``We`ve never lost a car. We`ve never crushed a car,`` he says. Automobiles are packed so that smaller, lighter ones occupy upper tiers.

Groups of travelers leave their cars and trickle into the Auto Train check- in station. They receive seat assignments and choose one of the three dinner seatings. The 6:15 p.m. seating is most popular; it fills up within minutes. Auto Train attendants guide passengers to their seats, roomettes or bedrooms. This is accomplished by 4:30 p.m., and the train pulls out of the station on time. The fun begins.

Up and down the aisles, parents grab toys, games and dolls from carry-on bags in feeble attempts to keep children in their seats. But the children are too excited to sit; they want to talk to the Auto Train attendants or play with other young passengers nearby.

According to John McLeod, Amtrak`s senior editor for corporate communications, families are frequent Auto Train travelers. ``We make a push for family travel, especially in the summer. We make sure the cost is competitive with what it would be if families flew and then rented a car,`` he says. ``You have to remember that you can haul a heck of a lot of stuff in the car.``

Susan Main, taking her first Auto Train trip, is traveling with Billy, 5. ``My parents have taken Auto Train several times going to New Jersey from Port Orange. They like it.``

Looking at Billy, she says: ``He`s excited. But he`ll tire out soon.``

At 5 p.m., one-third of the passengers move to one of three dining cars for dinner. Trays in hand, they start down a short line, place a salad on their trays and are given a choice of entrees. Tonight it`s red snapper, chicken Kiev or New York strip steak. Most take dessert, either cheesecake or ice cream.

Once through the line, passengers are paired up at tables. Although a few look peeved at having to sit, in some cases, with strangers, a shared carafe of chablis and friendly conversation cure any awkwardness.